WSAZ Investigates | Coming back from Crisis [Video]

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Chaos unfolded when people in the Kanawha Valley began smelling a licorice odor in the air in January 2014.

The smell was the result of a chemical that spilled into the Elk River.

The chemical spill happened on Jan. 9, 2014, when a storage tank at Freedom Industries corroded, leaking more than 10,000 gallons of the chemical MCHM (mixed with PPH, stripped) into the Elk River.

According to the report released Thursday, the spill restricted water use for nearly 300,000 people. More than 300 people sought medical treatment for potential exposure, according to a report from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board.

In the days following the chemical spill, the National Guard went zone by zone, testing the water and lifting the “Do Not Use” order in areas where results showed it was safe.

All zones were lifted by January 18, but that was …